The Bright Spot in the Dark
by PhoenixLeviosa
Summary: A brief glimpse to what the order members were doing in Grimmauld Place while the kids were at school.


Sirius was sitting in front of the tapestry of the Black family tree, contemplating how to work around the permanent sticking charm. He desperately wanted to eliminate the vile artifact that reminded him of his revolting relations. Lost in the thought of a satisfying image of the tapestry burning to ashes, Sirius didn't hear someone walk into the room.

"It would be rather nice-looking, if not for all the burn marks," said a low voice right behind Sirius' shoulder. He jumped and let out an undignified yelp.

"Merlin, Remus!" exclaimed Sirius, whose heart was beating rather rapidly, though not entirely from the fright. "I thought you had brains enough to know not to sneak up on someone in this house. We wouldn't want to risk someone screaming and waking up my _beloved _mother," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm at the term of endearment.

"It was worth the risk just to hear you make that adorable noise," chuckled Remus. Sirius scowled, but was inwardly blushing at the thought of Remus finding him adorable.

"Any thoughts on how to get it down yet?" Remus inquired.

Grateful for the change of subject, Sirius replied, "Besides burning the whole wall, no." He looked at the scorched spot where his Uncle Alphard's name used to be, and decided to chance a daring topic. "It's interesting that my Uncle Alphard remained on the tapestry as long as he did. I guess my family thought they would have needed solid evidence of his sexuality to disown him."

Remus looked at him questioningly. "He was gay," Sirius said. "Or at least, we all suspected he was. He was careful never to be publicly outed, but he never married and he was _very _close with his best 'friend' Rochester."

Remus' eyebrows were raised in surprise. "You would think your family, being the proud purebloods they were, would have wanted to disassociate themselves with him."

"They probably didn't want to risk losing out on a share of his fortune," Sirius replied, rolling his eyes. "Didn't get any of it in the end, though," he added smugly.

"Well, as much as I'd love to glare at the tapestry with you, I actually came to find you to let you know that dinner is ready. We had better go or Molly will have our hides," Remus said with mock severity.

Sirius smiled back. "Yes, I am getting rather peckish. Lead the way." He followed Remus out of the room, gazing over his form, dreaming of one day having that fine hide for himself.

**A PASSAGE OF TIME**

"More wine, Molly?" Remus asked.

"Oh, I really shouldn't, but why not," she replied. Sirius looked at her from across the table and noticed she was already a little red in the face.

"Sirius?" Remus, who was seated next to him, offered.

"Yes, please," Sirius said with a roguish grin. He saw Remus roll his eyes as he poured more wine into both of their glasses.

Molly looked at the two of them and smiled. "Have I ever told you about when Arthur and I got married? The war hadn't officially begun, but it was a dark time. The number of missing people was going up, and some had started showing up dead. Everyone was scared. Arthur and I had only been together for a couple of years and were fresh out of school." She paused to take another sip of wine.

"I assume your family thought you were rushing things, getting married so soon?" Remus asked.

"Of course they did. But there was so much uncertainty in the world. The one thing we were certain about was that we loved each other and wanted to be together. Once you know someone is the one, what's the point in wasting time?" She smiled at Sirius and finished her glass. "Thank you for the wine, Remus. It was delicious. I'm off to bed," she said as she unsteadily got up from the table. "Don't stay up too late," she added, winking so subtly at Sirius that he could have easily mistaken it for an involuntary twitch.

Sirius wondered if Molly was more perceptive than he gave her credit for. He pondered her words about wasting time as he sipped his wine. Unfortunately, he had no clue what Remus' feelings about him were, and he didn't want to irrevocably ruin their friendship if Remus didn't feel the same.

"I'm off to bed, too," Remus said, pulling Sirius out of his reverie.

"Okay. I'm going to stay and finish my glass. Can't let good wine go to waste," Sirius replied. "Good night."

"Good night. See you in the morning," Remus said with a warm smile before heading up the stairs.

Sirius didn't know how long he sat there, contemplating his life and if he would ever have a chance with Remus. Once his glass was empty, he went up to bed, where he drifted into wonderful dreams about the one he loved.

**A PASSAGE OF TIME**

Remus was sitting in the kitchen sipping a bracing cup of Earl Gray while Molly started to prepare breakfast. The full moon was only a couple of days away, and he could feel his body preparing for the change.

"Do you want me to whip something up for you?" Molly asked.

"Not just yet. The tea is fine for now. Helps me wake up," he replied.

A flash of fire appeared above the table directly in front of Remus. It was gone in half a second, leaving only a small piece of parchment fluttering down toward the worn wood. A message sent in this matter meant it was from Dumbledore and that the message was of a sensitive nature.

Tentatively, Remus picked it up, noticing it was still warm from its unconventional journey.

_Find out where they are._

Short and unspecific, those five words made his stomach turn. Finding out where other werewolves were was risky and dangerous. Thankfully, he had a potion from Severus to keep his mind clear, but the ones he would be looking for would not, making them deadly and unpredictable during the full moon.

"Everything all right?" asked Molly.

Startled out of his thoughts, Remus looked up at her. "Yes," he lied, trying to make it sound convincing. "But it looks like I'll be leaving you for a short time. I should go up and pack."

"Okay, well, I'll let you know when breakfast is ready."

Remus got up from the table, clutching the parchment in one hand, and headed up the stairs.

Lost in thought over the dangers of this mission, he wasn't paying attention to where his feet were headed, and subsequently tripped on the edge of the hall rug. He braced himself for impact with the floor, but instead felt warm, strong hands gripping his arms. He looked up into the dark eyes of Sirius, who had a concerned look on his face.

"You okay?" Sirius asked, sincere care evident in his voice. At a loss for words, Remus gazed at Sirius, then tentatively lifted a hand to touch the side of Sirius' lips came crashing together as Remus pulled Sirius to him.

Sirius was stunned and delighted. He broke off the kiss after a few moments and looked intensely into Remus' eyes.

"I… I… I think I love you," breathed Remus.

"I love you, too, have for a while," Sirius replied. "Molly's tipsy rambling last night put things into perspective for me. There's a war going on and anything could happen, so we need to hold the ones we love close and cherish every moment we have."

"Listen," Remus said, "I've got to go away for a bit… and it might be dangerous. I realized I couldn't go another moment without letting you know how I feel about you, just in case the worst should happen."

Fear clutched at Sirius' chest. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Remus, especially not now that he knew they felt the same way about each other.

"It won't," he said. "You'll come back to me. And when you do, we will explore us."

"What do you mean by 'explore'?" Remus asked, his upper lip quirked seductively. Sirius let out a low growl and pulled Remus back to him for a delightfully more passionate kiss.

Molly walked up the stairs from the kitchen, intending to announce that breakfast was ready. As she came to the top of the stairs, she was met with the sight of the two lovers entwined. She smiled to herself, having observed the way they looked at each other when the other wasn't looking. She quietly made her way back down the stairs, put a warming charm on the food, and made herself a cup of tea. She would let them have a few minutes before interrupting them.

**A PASSAGE OF TIME**

Molly waited on the platform for the children to arrive along with Arthur, Fred, George, Moody, Tonks, and Remus, who looked rather gray. She had never seen anyone so dejected. He looked much skinnier, and she wondered if he had eaten anything since the Department of Mysteries fight. Remus and Sirius may have only had a few months of romantic companionship, but it was clear every time she saw them together that their love was just as strong as a couple who had been married for more than 20 years. Her mind flew back to the boggart she had confronted over the summer, and she was once again hit with the despair she had felt at seeing the dead bodies of her loved ones. She squeezed Arthur's hand, fighting back tears, desperately hoping this war wouldn't take him from her, as it had taken Sirius from Remus.


End file.
